My One Regret
by Ayamas4Ever
Summary: I made a big mistake when I was young. Maybe I was naive, or just plain stupid, but I know I can't rewind everything that I've done to her. Now.. Now I just have to face the consequences.
1. Prologue

_**~My One Regret~**_

**Prologue**

You don't realize you've lost something until you look back at your life and feel that you're missing something. My name is Beck Oliver, I am twenty-four years old, I live in New York, I am an actor, I love long walks on the beach with a sunset that shows the orange colored sun, I tell people I have no secrets, but I do. Well, I have one. The secret is that I have one regret: losing the love of my life. Her name: Tori Vega or now known as Victoria Martin.

Yep, she married a guy, no wait, she married a marine. A lieutenant J.G, working at the fifth fleet. I don't know much about him, André told me he has blond hair and blue eyes.. Like I was interested in that. Anyway, his name is Alexander Karr Martin and he's two years older than Tori and me, so if you can do the math you'll find out he's twenty-six as of now.

They've known each other since Tori attended UCLA for a degree in the Performing Arts and Alexander was studying something about mechanical things, I don't know. Eventually Tori decided not to pursue in Performing Arts, but to get a degree in teaching kids the performing arts, like our teacher Sikowitz did back at our high school Hollywood Arts. As I've been told, Alexander met Tori on campus when she bumped into him with her coffee and spilled it all over him and I'm actually starting to think that's her way of flirting with someone. Long story short, he asked her out, she said "yes", they started dating, they fell in love, blah, blah, blah.

In the present they've been married for two years now. How I know? I actually got an invitation to the wedding. I didn't go, but I was quite surprised when I found an invitation in my mailbox some years ago, I thought.. well we will come to that part later on..

Well, how Tori is doing now. She's… got a baby recently. André and Cat both called me to tell me how romantically and perfect it was. Apparently Tori went into labor and luckily she was staying at her parents' home so they could bring her to the hospital. If you're wondering where Alexander was, he was supposed to be on duty for a year at the fifth fleet. He left when Tori was on her first trimester. Here comes the big part though, when Tori was in the hospital and about to give birth to her first born, guess who showed up all of a sudden? You probably guessed right. Alexander.

He knew Tori was due one of these days, so he composed a plan with his captain at the base in order to be with his wife during the birth of their child. It did mean that he had to return to the base after a certain amount of time.

I can only imagine the smile on Tori's face when she saw her husband walking into her hospital room, surprising her. I am not proud of pushing Tori away back in high school, I wish I could've done it differently. Unfortunately, that is not the case. After all, not every story has its happy ending.

To carry on now, Tori gave birth to a baby boy named Eddie David Martin. Eddie after Alex' father -I will just call him Alex now- who was a marine too, but he passed away after forty years of serving in the Navy. He died of a heart attack though, not during his service. David is after Tori's father, she just thought it would be applicable to call her son after both his grandfathers. André showed me a picture, he looks like Tori, but his eyes are Alex'. Although I wished he was mine, I have to admit he is perfect..

I look around my apartment here in New York. I actually hate the color of the walls, but I couldn't be bothered to change the color from beige to.. whatever color would fit here. I sigh and get up from the couch, putting my phone in my jeans pocket and making my way over to the kitchen. I walk through the hall and can't ignore the framed picture I have from the old Hollywood Arts gang when we were younger.

On the very left is André Harris. He's still my best friend, if you haven't noticed it yet. His big dream of becoming a great music producer came true. He worked really hard, starting at the bottom and working his way up. He started out as a songwriter and when he was beginning to become more and more famous, he got a lot of clients who wanted him to help them get a musical career. Using his fame and his contacts in the music business, he was able to help them. More and more people started to go to him to record a demo and tried to get it in the charts, with success.

The best part about this all, André's fame didn't make him lose his mind. In fact, he is still the dude I know from high school. The only difference is age. He is also the only one who still speaks with all the members of the Hollywood Arts gang. Romantically, he's not so lucky though. He had some on and off relationships and some random girls who he met at clubs, but for the rest it wasn't all that interesting. I guess he's just not the kind of person who settles down, or at least not yet.

Secondly, next to André, we have Cat Valentine. I talk with her occasionally, but not a lot. She and Tori are still best friends, so sometimes, when I talk to her, I ask her about Tori. I know, I should probably just ask Cat for her number, but I can't. First of all, I don't think Alex will be very happy about that, talking with an ex-lover I mean. Secondly, I haven't spoken or even seen Tori since graduation day at Hollywood Arts. Me calling her all of a sudden.. yeah… no.

Back to Cat. She has always been good at knowing people's sizes, so when her music career didn't work out, she decided to set up her own boutique. She named it Red Velvet Valentines. Red velvet after her dyed hair back in high school, it's back to brown now. She's not only selling other brands, but she's also selling her own clothing line.. for both men and women and since Tori told her she was expecting a baby, Cat began to design clothing for babies which she was going to release on Tori's due date. Which was recently.

Cat lives in LA now, but she used to live in New York with Robbie Shapiro who is, by the way, standing next to Cat on the picture. They shared an apartment during college, that way it was cheaper and it was also an option for them since they started dating during the summer before college. The whole gang agreed that these two would end up together someday, somehow. Eventually they did.

Unfortunately, they're not together anymore. You see, Robbie still had his puppet called Rex with him and Cat tried to persuade him to throw Rex away and move on with his life. Not to mention that "Rex" was insanely rude to everyone. Long story short, after several fights and discussions they decided to break up. Robbie moved out and stayed in New York until he graduated, after that he moved to Dallas, Texas. I don't really know how he's doing now. Apparently he has a girlfriend with the name Cecilia Crowe. They met in a bar; Robbie was performing there.

Next to Robbie is Tori's sister Trina standing. I wouldn't actually say she was a part of the gang, but she did hang out with us. Sometimes. If she wasn't chasing boys. Anyways, Trina is a comedienne. Back in high school she had a one-woman-show called Shecago and the reviews she got for her performance were mostly about it being an awesome comedy and honestly, she did a great job on it. So after she finally found out about her inability to sing or act or dance that well she started to do skits and that turned out great for her.

She lives in LA, just like Tori and her little family. Trina hasn't got someone right now. She used to have though, which I was quite surprised about. Like, I don't want to sound cocky or anything, but she used to chase me around the school and once she even made the rumor go around that I asked her out. Which I did not.

I think Trina was married for about 2 years with someone she actually only knew for a week. It's was a spur of the moment to decide to marry him, I guess and after two years of marriage they both decided to break it off and have a divorce. The love wasn't there. I honestly hope she will find someone someday. She's actually not that bad. She's just.. Trina.

And then we have Jade West. Or also known as my ex-girlfriend whom I dated during high school and first two years of college. I haven't really spoken to her since our fight back in summer before our third year in college which led to our final break-up. I've seen her though, on the red carpet. A couple of times. She's an actress and a screenwriter. She is mostly known for the numerous of horror movies she's written at the young age of twenty-four and for playing a couple of parts in her own written movies.

So, her career is going great and so is her love life. I'm not surprised though. I know Jade. I dated her for so many years, I think it would be kind of hard for her to change so badly that I wouldn't know her anymore. She probably used the same kind of charm like with my best friend Moose at the time we were broken up for a while. Anyway, Jade is dating an actor who worked in one of her movies and she looks happy when I see her with him. I am happy for her, I really am. We moved on. It was probably better if we moved on back in high school, but I can't change the past.

Finally I move my eyes to the very right of the picture. It makes my heart beat a bit faster, that's just the effect Tori still has on me. We made this group picture on.. I actually don't really know, but I do know that Jade and I were already broken up and Tori and Jade were bickering again so eventually I switched place from next to André to the place in between Jade and Tori.

I stare at the picture for a little while longer and then continue my way to the kitchen. I grab a wineglass out of the cabinet and put it down on the counter. The whole former Hollywood Arts gang. It kind of fell apart at the moment we all went our own way after graduation, but that happens a lot. That also happens when you change from elementary school to junior high, but maybe that's a different kind of situation when you're older. After all, you're kind of grown up then.

I grab the cooled wine out of my fridge and pour the last bit into my glass. I throw the bottle into the trashcan and take a sip of my wine. It's sweet, but also a bit bitter. I chug the rest of the content in my glass down.

_I really want to love somebody, I really want to dance the night away_

The ringtone of an old Maroon 5 song makes me aware of my phone going off. I put my empty wineglass in the sink and grab my phone out of my pocket. The caller ID shows me the name of my manager. I roll my eyes, wondering what he wants from me now. I accept the call and place the phone to my ear.

"This is Beck." I say, my voice hoarse from the lack of speaking the last couple of hours.

"Hey Beck!" the voice of my manager Lloyd sounds, "I've found the best audition ever for you!"

"What is it about?" I ask, seriously. The last few auditions I was supposedly _"perfect" _for didn't quite work out. Mainly, because the parts I was supposed to play were nothing for me. So eventually I didn't get any of the parts I auditioned for and obviously that left me jobless for the time being.

"Well I know you've never really been a sportsman-" I sit down on one of my kitchen chairs and raise my right eyebrow skeptically, not that he can actually see that though.

"Yeah so?" I ask.

"But you will _love _this part! It's about a jock, you know, really popular, can get the prettiest girls. Kind of a standard chick flick, romantic comedy thing. Eventually, he gets dared by his friends to woo the most nerdy girl at school and humiliate her in front of all the seniors at the prom after graduation. He takes the bet and tries to make the girl fall in love with him in the most craziest ways and without knowing he eventually falls in love with her. But of course, the girl finds out and decided to skip the prom and go to her chosen university. The boy finally realizes that he is in love with her and chases her to the airport. Mushy, mushy stuff. Happy ending. Well, what do you think?" I bite my lip, contemplating if I should take it. Lloyd starts to talk again about the movie not being something I usually do. As I've played mostly in drama movies so far.

I think I should take it. After all, New York is expensive and I can't pay the bills without an income. Not to mention that I haven't had a proper job in the last couple of months. "I'll take it." I say, determined.

"Yes!" I hear Lloyd cheer on the other line. "The audition is Friday so make sure you pack your bags soon. I'll book the tickets and I'll tell the producer you're auditioning. I'll call you about the details!" I nod my head and then remember something.

"Wait! Where is the audition?"

"LA." He says. He ends the phone call. My breathing is quick and my heart is starting to beat faster again. LA.. Tori lives in LA.

I'm going back to LA.

* * *

**So here's my newest project. I hope you'll like it and I hope you enjoyed it so far. More to come.**

**~Ayamas4Ever**


	2. Chapter One

_**~My One Regret~**_

**Chapter One**

I step out of the doors of LAX airport. I immediately feel the hot, humid, Californian air. It feels great to be back in the town where I had spent most of my time at while being a teenager. I shift my duffel bag higher on my shoulder and drag my suitcase to the parking lot.

I look around, trying to find the familiar face of my best friend. After I peered around for a bit I heard a honk behind me, catching me off guard. I quickly turn around and see the white teeth of my best friend behind the car's window. I can't see his eyes, he's wearing an aviator before his eyes, but I can still see the amusement on his features. I raise my hand to greet him and then he sticks his head out of the window. "Hey man! Get in!"

I walk over to the passenger's side while he unlocks the car. I put my small suitcase behind my chair and get in. I close the door, fasten my seatbelt and turn to André to see him. He's put off his aviator and turns to me for a brotherly hug. "Long time no see, bro." he says while patting my back.

"I know. So how you've been?" I ask. We leave the parking lot of LAX airport and go for the highway. For a second I'm actually surprised that the traffic isn't stuck at this time of the hour, but then André speaks up.

"Good, good. Just doing my thing. Some writing. Some music. Some producing. Same old, same old." I nod and look forward. "So how's the acting going?" he asks, "You told me you're auditioning here right?" He keeps looking between me and the road.

I stare at a red convertible with a young couple occupying the seats. The male, black hair, sunglasses and killer smile. The girl, auburn hair and a bright, loving smile towards her boyfriend. The boy has his arm around her shoulders. Occasionally, glancing at her while still trying to focus on the road. The scene makes me feel slightly nostalgic to the days back in high school when I picked up Jade to go to school every day because my high school girl refused to drive during day light. Sometimes I wished that everything could've been as easy now as it was back in Hollywood Arts. I tear my gaze away and turn to André again. "Yep. A Romcom. First time doing this, so I hope I'll get the job."

He lets go of the steering wheel with his right hand and replaces it with his left to pat me on my left shoulder while he says: "Sure you will. We all have trust in you."

"_We_?" I ask. I hope he doesn't mean what I think he means. I see him biting his lip nervously as he also starts tapping the steering wheel with his fingers.

"Yeah. Kind of a funny story actually." Oh no. Please André; don't say what I think you're going to say. "Cat and Tori know that you were coming back to LA for a while." And he did say it.

"You told Tori?!" I ask, incredulously. André raises his hands a bit and then starts spluttering words out in defense. He looks backwards and changes lanes before explaining himself.

"I told Cat, because… well she stopped by and I can't lie to that Redhead." I nod, I understand that. It's hard to keep secrets from Cat, but unfortunately, it's hard for Cat to keep any secret a secret.

"And long story short, Cat told Tori who then called me and then I just.. Well, I can't deny it anymore!" he looked at me before continuing, "So I told her "Yes, Tor. He's coming back to LA for an audition." Then she started babbling about throwing a welcome back party for you and well.. That's kind of going to happen once we arrive." And still I felt like he was keeping one small detail from me.

"Arrive where?" I asked, skeptically. Raising my right eyebrow and not lowering my gaze on André until he answered me.

"Tori's house."

"Dude! Are you serious?! Her husband probably knows about our history back in high school!" I exclaim.

"I'm sorry! She insisted!" We stop at a red light, we're finally off the highway, but apparently we're on our way to Tori's and Alexander's house. I rub my hand past my face in annoyance and a bit of desperation. How will this turn out? I haven't seen her since graduation when she told me she didn't want to see me.. like ever.. again. And now I'm going to meet her husband and see her newborn child?! Oh, god.

I hear André sigh and he turns to look at me. "Beck," I nod once, "If she really never wanted to see you ever again, she wouldn't have asked me to help her set up all of this for you. She's moved on and she's trying to make some peace here. It's the past. The past is the past. Let's just all try to be friends again." I nod again. He has a point. The past is the past. We moved on. Sort of.

"Either she wants us all to be friends again or she's still suffering from the afterbirth hormones." He jokes. I smile slightly and give in.

"Okay." I sigh. He smiles and steps on the gas pedal, driving to the Martin's house. I'm already wondering who will be there. I hope it won't be too big.

After a short few minutes, we arrive in front of a white colored house. The roof is in the color black and it makes the house look really elegant. I look at the front yard of the house; a small path made of pebbles leads to the front door. "Hey Beck, are you coming?" I hear André asking me. I didn't notice him getting out of the car, but he's patiently waiting for me to move. I open the door and get out. André locks his car with a simple push on a button of his car keys. The car makes a beeping sound while lightning up before we make our way over to the house.

We walk past the house's mailbox. There are names written on the left side of the object. I can only see it briefly, but I know what it's saying. _Alexander, Victoria & Eddie Martin _are written in a handwriting I've known since I was a naïve sixteen-year-old. I gulp and look at the front door.

André knocks four times on the door while there's actually a doorbell next to the door. We wait a couple of seconds before we hear footsteps coming near us. Before we know it, the door swings open and a tall-blond man is standing in the doorway with a tiny newborn in his hands. He smiles at André and greets him, giving him a hand while still holding the infant. Then he looks at me. "Hey, I'm Beck." I say.

For a short moment he doesn't show any emotion on his face at all, but then he smiles and extends his hand to me. "I know. I'm Alexander. Just call me Alex though." I shake his hand and look over to the baby. Alex notices and looks down at his son. "And this is my boy Eddie. He looks just like his beautiful mom." He takes his son's hand and softly caresses it, then he shakes his head slightly and looks over to us again. "Sorry!" he exclaims, "Come in."

"He opens the door wider and moves aside to let us in. "Vic isn't here yet, she went out with Cat to the supermarket because they forgot something for the barbecue. Her parents are here though. You've probably met them while you were still going to school with Vic?" he asks slash states to me. The nickname he's using for her used to annoy Tori so much.

"_Either you call me Tori or Tor. Victoria and Vic make me sound so old." _She had said to us. I guess getting a husband and a child and growing up makes you change your mind about those kinds of things.

Then I realize that I still have to answer him back, "Yeah, I've seen them occasionally while hanging out with the gang at her house." He closes the door behind us and starts to lead us the way to the back.

"Ah, the old Hollywood Arts Gang. Yep, heard of that. Vic has told me all about all of you.. So how's the acting going?" For someone who is the husband of a girl I hurt, but loved, he's really polite to me. I'm quite surprised he's even inviting me into his home.

"Great. Audition soon." I answer.

"I've heard of that. Good luck!" he says.

"Thanks." I kind of mumble back. We reach the backyard and I look around a bit. There's a big pool, but there's a pool cover placed over it. A variety of flowers are filling the scene and it looks beautiful in the Californian sun. It's a big garden, perfect for kids to run around at, and I can already see Mr. Vega standing behind the barbecue, grilling some steaks for us all, I assume. Suddenly, baby Eddie starts to wail loudly. Alex rocks him back and forth to try and calm him down, but it's no use. He excuses himself while he walks back into the house, probably to the kitchen to fix a bottle for the tiny infant.

Then I look over at André and see him waving at Mrs. Vega who's sitting on a garden chair and already waving back at him with a smile. He reaches her and hugs her tightly, they make small talk while I go and stand next to Mr. Vega. He notices my presence and smiles. "Beck, my boy! How are you?"

I'm so bewildered by his question that the only answer that comes out of my mouth is: "Aren't you mad at me, Sir?" He frowns at me and quickly shakes his head 'no'.

"No! Why? Should I?" he asks, jokingly.

"But... I really hurt your daughter?" I hesitate, did Tori even tell her parents about what happened back in school? I see him nod and open his mouth after he finished flipping a steak.

"I know, in the beginning I wanted to shoot you," my eyes widen, but then he continues, "but years passed by, and now.. I just don't see the point in being angry at you while my daughter herself is willing to forgive you. And so does my wife. We realize that you were still teens –naïve teens nonetheless- back at Hollywood Arts and.. you know. We've been teenagers," he looks over at his wife who is still talking to André and then back at me, "We've made mistakes. So, don't worry." He finishes, he pats my shoulder and points with the spatula towards his wife.

"I think my wife wants to greet you." He says. I look over at Mrs. Vega and see that André is gone. He has probably wandered off somewhere. I nod and walk over to her, but not before saying a quick 'thanks' to David.

"Beck," Mrs. Vega says before she puts her arms around my shoulders in a hug. "I know my daughter has forgiven you for what you have done to her in the past, but I'm not like that, Beck. Don't hurt my daughter again." she whispers in my ear. I slowly nod and let go of her. My calm exterior threatens to fall with the intense glare Mrs. Vega is giving me. It makes me feel really uncomfortable, I knew someone was going to be mad at me for what happened with Tori and me, but I've never thought it would be Tori's mother. Tori, maybe. Alex, maybe. The cop, Mr. Vega, maybe.. but not _Mrs._ Vega.

"Mom, stop scaring him, we talked about this." I hear a voice say. My whole body stiffens. People who know me, know that I'm never scared. Well, almost never. Because honestly, I'm even too scared to turn around right now and face her.

Internally, I'm gathering all the courage I have in me to turn around with a blank face.. and then I see her.

_I step out of my convertible and walk across the parking lot to the entrance of Hollywood Arts, the cool November breeze blowing my hair around. It's still early because you can barely see any students on the courtyard. I open the doors of the school and walk over to my transparent locker. I'm about to open it when I see a girl with curly brown hair walking into the school. Her shoulders are slumped and she seems to have bags under her eyes. I frown and grab my backpack before I make my way over to her._

"_Whatcha dooin'?" I ask her, leaning on the locker beside hers. She looks at me with tired eye and groans. "Well, nice to see you too." I say, starting to walk away..1…2…3._

"_No wait!" I turn around and Tori is holding out her hand for me, "I'm sorry. It's just; Trina has been keeping me awake last night. Apparently, she has to sing during the night with a full moon. I'm surprised she didn't attract any werewolves," she chuckles, "So why are you here so early?" _

"_Jade didn't need a ride today, so I figured I should just go to school already before the daily jazz starts. What about you?"_

"_Didn't want to ride with Trina." I nod my head in understanding._

"_Of course." Tori has started filling her bag with the books she needs for her first few classes and I take this moment to look at her. She's wearing white skinny jeans with a white tank top and a peach-colored vest. She looks cute. Then I look at her face and she's carrying a small smile on her face, I can see her pink lip-gloss, her sugar-plump-shaped cheekbones and her eyes, gosh, those beautiful, big, brown eyes. She's just drop dead gorgeous._

_Wait what? No. _

_I'm dating Jade. Bad thoughts Beck, bad thoughts. Don't think about Tori that way. She's a friend, Beck. Just a friend._

"_Beck?"_

"_Huh?" Tori is waving her hand in front of my face, trying to get my attention. I take her hand and hold it in mine, they fit perfectly. "Sorry, my mind drifted off somewhere." she nods her head._

"_Jade?"_

"_Uh, yeah." she nods again and takes her hand out of mine; I'm missing hers in mine already. We're standing at her locker for a moment, neither of us saying anything. This is so awkward. "I should go," pointing my thumb to.. God knows where, "Jade can be here any moment, so.."_

"_Okay, see you later." she says, I can't help but notice a slight disappointment on her face, or maybe I'm just imagining things in my head. I nod and head to the exit. _

_Great job, Beck._

* * *

**The flashbacks will have a big part in this story, so keep an eye on those. **

**'til Next time.**


End file.
